How to Make Your Own Butter - Great Summer Project to Do With Your Kiddos

Good Morning!! Thanks for popping over for a visit.  So, have you ever made your own butter? If not, you are truly missing out and I don't think it could be easier. It's funny, little things can give us such a feeling of accomplishment. Not to mention, that you will shock your friends and family with your amazing talent! (LOL, really it's so easy, you'll be almost embarrassed at all the praise you will get for doing this simple thing)!

So, I really want to break it down for you, because when I first started doing this myself, I thought it would be a very daunting task, and that only 'special' people, you know, the Martha Stewart's of the world, could possibly do! Ha! So Easy...but people will think you're as talented as M.S! Another thing that I really love about this, is doing it with children! You can't believe their amazement! As if,  you had some magic powers or something!

Okay, Step 1 - Buy a half gallon of Cream. Yep, that's it! I don't know about where you live, but this isn't something you can buy at most stores, they usually only sell pints or maybe a quart, but good old Costco sells this half gallon carton for only $3.99!

Make sure it is Heavy Whipping Cream. And, no, Half and Half will not work.  I have used my Kitchen Aid here, but I have also made it in a food processor.  I have been told, and I cannot see why not, that you can also do this in your average, garden variety, Blender. :) 

Okay, are you ready for it? Step 2 - Pour Whipping Cream, take out of the fridge an hour before you're ready, (room temperature is best for this)Now, pour it into your Bowl, Food Processor or Blender. (Little tip here: to stay dry and not have cream all over your kitchen, do no more than 1-1/2 - 2 cups at a time. Yep, I learned that one the hard way)

Do not put it in High! You can use the middle setting for this and walk away for a little bit. But, if you are doing this with your kids, I suggest you stay and watch! It really is fascinating to see the transformation. Obviously. the first you will see is a nice whip cream texture. (Doesn't that look beautiful?) The mind wants to stop here because we like it, and we are familiar with this, but do not stop your machine!  

It is so pretty, though.. Okay, so if you need a little whip cream for dessert, or for your Latte or just to taste, now would be the time to get it out. :)  But, then, turn it back on and keep blending..

<-- Now you start seeing this. If you've made your own whip cream, you know this is when you have gone a little too far and it doesn't have that nice silky look anymore. It's ok, this is what you want. Don't stop blending! 

Now you've really done it! it's gone from anything even remotely looking like whip cream to looking almost like a dry, grainy texture in the center! I know, weird, eh? It's really supposed to do that! This is just the fat and water content separating, this is normal.  When you get to this point, though, I would highly recommend putting your splash guard on. Because what happens next is truly amazing!!

All of the sudden, this liquid starts shooting out of it, splashing about everywhere!! Bizarre, eh? That liquid is the best Buttermilk you will ever taste!! Bonus!! You get fresh, Homemade Butter and Buttermilk!! I highly recommend placing a clean cotton towel over your mixer while this is happening...

When it starts doing this, have a clean, dry, sealable container ready, because now you are going to turn your Blender off and drain the buttermilk off into that container! And does it ever taste good in your recipes!! I love to use this buttermilk for my scones or biscuits, where you can really appreciate the flavor! Make sure to seal and refrigerate your buttermilk. You're not quite done yet.

 Put your bowl back in place and turn your Blender back on. You may get a little more buttermilk here to drain off, or not, it just depends on how much liquid you already got out of it. If you continue to get some more liquid, repeat the draining step again.   Okay, this is Step 3! Now that you can see that you have creamed butter in your bowl, you can add honey (I add about 1 Tablespoon of fresh, unfiltered raw honey from Whole Foods to mine)Yummm! If you like, you can also add herbs and garlic of your choice, if you want just plain sweet cream butter do not add anything. Continue to blend for another minute or so.

I have never heard of anyone else doing the next step, and it probably isn't necessary, but I like to take one of my bottled waters out of the fridge at this point and just pour about 1/2 cup over the butter as it blends, it seems to chill it and make it come together a little nicer, but hey, that's just me. You can skip this step if you like and just scrape your yummy butter out of your blender or mixer and put it into a bowl that has an air seal lock.  You will be amazed. It comes out of the bowl easier than anything else you've ever made.

From the half gallon( 64 oz.) of whipping cream, we started with,  you should yield approximately 4 cups of butter and 4 cups of buttermilk!

Now, if you are lucky enough to have a butter crock, (or blessed with a friend who finds one for you, thanks Linda) like the one below, you can store a 1/2 cup of your fresh butter in it. It is simply sealed by placing 1/3 cup of cold water in it, before placing the butter in the lid. This way you can have some spreadable butter on the counter and store the rest in your fridge in an air-sealed container. Any Tupperware will work here.

I hope you do take this fun little project on, I have nor gone back to stick butter, other than for baking, ever since I made my first batch of honey butter!!

Many Blessing to you all for a wonderful week!! I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

~Theresa

I'll be sharing this with the following wonderful Ladies!

The Ultimate Linky  Creative Kids Tasty Tuesday   Ivy and Elephants  Yesterfood  Savvy Southern Style My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse   A Stroll Thru Life   Katherine's Corner Thursday Favorite Things    French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday   The Charm Of Home's Home Sweet Home    Imparting Grace: Grace at Home     Stringtown Home's Sisterhood
Posed Perfection's Creative Ways    Vintage Chic     Nacherrow's Fridays Unfolded
Natasha In Oz      Shabbilicious Friday    I Heart Nap Time's Link Party Palooza   The Dedicated House Cindy's Romantic Home   Mamas"Little" Treasures Wake Up Wednesday  The DIY Dreamer


This post was featured by the incredibly talented & very kind Joy from Yesterfood I adore Joy and her wonderful Blog and am so completely honored! Many Thanks!

Completely surprised to also be featured by the wonderful & talented, Richella, from Imparting Grace